1980? TH silk scarf. "Echo." 31" square. Where and when?
This large scarf presents a challenge not only to its photographer but to any other viewer, since its three quarters of its lines appear upside-down and 90 degrees from horizontal. I suppose that makes little difference, when a scarf adorns one's neck and is tied in various ways. Click on either image to see more detail.
1960? TH scarf. 21" square. Unknown date and source.
This lively scarf asks to be viewed from several different angles, from the race's start to its finish. The hare runs with a stopwatch in his hand. He also stops at a hot dog stand. A grandstand full of tortoises and hares watches the tortoise cross the line as winner. Browns, yellows, and pinks.
2001 TH Onesie for Infants. Gymboree. 0-3 months. 100% cotton. Made in Thailand. Unknown source.
This cute garment features a lovely stiched representation near the neckline and repeated named rabbits and turtles in a pattern throughout.
1975? TH Necktie. 100% silk. Made in Italy. George Kent by Mismiya (Hishiya?). Unknown source.
Wow! Both the tortoise and the hare are big and bold! Am I a victim of today's fashion if I ask "Did anyone honestly ever wear this tie seriously?" George Kent seems to be a serious name in the clothing world.
1970? TH Necktie. 75? Polyester, 25% silk. Rivetz of Boston. Sports and Specialties Shop, Inc. Unknown source.
Tortoise and hare alternate in diagonal lines, with just a touch of white to offset the light blue in each animal. Rivetz seems still to be creating neckties. The web knows nothing of the "Sports and Specialties Shop, Inc.," named on a label sewn onto the necktie.
2000? TH Mola from Panama. 17" x 14.7". Unknown source.
My what a lively, colorful piece of work! At first, I thought that this duo was musical, but on further inspection the hare is eating a carrot. And is the tortoise carrying a basket? In any case, they do not seem to be racing!
I take it that the inner bowl would be filled with hot water in order to keep a child’s porridge or oatmeal hot in the bowl. The illustration is identical with that on a Keller and Guerin bowl, and it is a mirror opposite of that on a Keller and Guerin plate. Why would this bowl not have been identified by Keller and Guerin as their product?
The sweating tortoise in TH rides a bicycle and wears a rider's cap and sneakers. The hare also rides a bicycle and has goggles above the brim of his cap.
The sweating tortoise in TH rides a bicycle and wears a rider's cap and sneakers. The hare also rides a bicycle and has goggles above the brim of his cap.
1920? Hidden Picture card of TH without artist or publisher. $5 from an unknown source, April, '22.
Even the verso gives no help here. The card quotes the first two lines of La Fontaine's TH in French and then asks where the hare is.
1910? Complete five-card set of "Le Lievre et la Tortue." Paris: Croissant 3096. Ch. Fontane, Editeur-Imp. $60 from Bertrand Cocq, Callone Ricouart, France, Sept., '18.
This set of five photographic postcards, like some – but not all -- others in the "Croissant" family, has some unusual features. One is the inserted painted portion of each card giving a phase of the La Fontaine fable. Another is that the first of these gives an explicit title and identifies it as a fable of La Fontaine. The coloring is very well done! The female actress here has a gift for gesture! The key in this telling of the story is Card III. At first it seems that this young man fell from his bike. But perhaps we are meant to see him resting. Card IV telescopes a good deal of action into one scene. The coloration of these photographs is, I believe, particularly good.
2000? TH Clay Charms. 1.5". Unknown source.
Beautifully formed charms. The tortoise is particularly intricate with a springtime basket. While the hare has holes at his mouth and tail, the tortoise has holes in his shoulders.
1927 Children present La Fontaine's moral from TH: "Running is not the issue. You need to start on time." $5 from an unknown source, Feb., '22.
The verso seems to me more engaging than the illustration in this card whose message is dated in October, 1927. First, the young "Votre petite Lili" did not add an address to her card. Secondly, the card itself warns that not all countries accept the "correspondence au recto." I wonder what that means…. I tried my own translation against several of the traditional ones. Maybe best is Spector: "Rushing is useless; one has to leave on time. Moore has " If you don't start on time, you might as well not try." Wright: "To win a race, the swiftness of a dart Availeth not without a timely start."
2020 TH charms by Nancy Schön representing her two statues in Boston's Copley Square. $50 from Nancy herself, Sept., '20. They arrived with a lovely photographic note from Nancy.
The charms can be shoe tie or sweater charms. Charming!
2000? TH charms connected by a .75" chain. Two copies in Pierre Cardin case. Unknown source.
There is little to identify these charms. It seems unusual to have a double charm. Could these be actual Cardin products?
1980? TH Charm. The hare rides the tortoise. 1" high. Unknown source.
This charm is nicely printed on both sides. It follows the familiar – but to me still hard to understand – that the hare rides the tortoise. His nose and whiskers are particularly well rendered.
1970? TH Charm. Rabbit inside the tortoise body. 1" long. Unknown source.
The collection received this charm a long time ago, but we only now are able to catalogue it. As I found it, I wondered why we had a lone tortoise in the collection. Closer examination revealed a hinge, and some patient probing found a way to get it open after so many years of being shut. The smallest rabbit in the world is lodged inside this tortoise! He lives in a lovely pearl-colored casing.
1920? Ceramic plate of "Le Lièvre et la Tortue" by "Jars, France pour F & S." 7½" in diameter. Scalloped rim. Tan with green edging, script, and illustration border around a circular full-color illustration of TH. "Le Lièvre et la Tortue" and "Fables de la Fontaine" on the plate front. $27 from loopylliz through eBay, Jan., '22.
This plate is exactly like others in the series but smaller in dimension. The tortoise is near the goal as the hare sleeps on.
2000? TH Castell Coch Linen Tea Towel. 55% linen, 45% cotton. Made in Ireland. 17.3” x 13.5”. Source unknown.
As the web tells us, the design is inspired by the wall paintings in the octagonal drawing room of Castell Coch, a Victorian Gothic Revival castle in Wales. Perhaps the most fascinating feature of this colorful presentation, based on murals at Castell Coch, is the frog perched above the race with a bottle in his hand. At first I thought he might have bet on the wrong racer. After viewing more of the Castell Coch wallpaper, I believe that he is the quack doctor who promises to heal others, even though he cannot heal himself.
1930? TH postcard by Raymond Prévost. €2 from M. et Mme Camus, Oullins, at the Paris Post Card Exhibition, Jan., '05.
The hare walks behind the tortoise with a flower in his hand. Would this be the opening moment of the story? Strong, simple colors. The verso of this card has suffered, apparently from having been pasted into an album.
1925? Full-colored cartoon card of TH. “AS” trademark presented as a wink and smile. No artist acknowledged. $8 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, Sept., ’20. Better copy found somewhere for $5, April, '22.
Here is one of the poorest cut postcards in the collection! The cutter missed by quite a bit! Bertrand thought that this card may be an advertisement for candy, but I believe that the candy-maker would have identified itself in that case. Rather this is a simple joke: when it comes to getting candy, a tortoise can be cleverer than a fast hare. The artist’s focus here is on making the children with their apparel similar in form to a tortoise and a hare. I will leave it to viewers to judge how well the artist did. The verso is as simple as it gets. Enjoy, as I do, finding a better cut and better colored copy!
1980? TH and GA Light Switch Covers. Hand painted ceramic. San Francisco and Japan: Takahashi. 5.5" x 3.5". Unknown source.
Simple designs allow for the three holes necessary for these switch-covering plates. The racers' path leads to the red flat at the top of the switch. Is that colorfully clad grasshopper eating a cucumber while the black ants trudge along with their sacks?
2001 TH Address Labels. Two sheets with fourteen address labels each. White Wolf Designs. $2 from Nikki Brindle, Warsaw, IN, through Ebay, August, '01.
Each label is 1 1/3" x 4". A yellow and green tortoise apparently comes back past the finish line where we see the hare sitting. The white hare has a pink eye and blue drops of sweat. I never would have thought that such a thing existed! But why not?!
